I gave in.
It really was the smart way to do things. It is the better way for me to interact with the Viteză Furie, to control it's systems, and if I am going to be off the ship, I need to still be able to control it.
I had the Garage printer, print me a shuttle and a couple of land and air vehicles. I selected a larger shuttle than I need for just myself, with armament to be safe. Using the Crazy Tech's designs. I have come to refer to him as CT as I don't know what his name was.
His designs are just simply better. Sleeker, smarter, and just all around better use of the space involved. His designs also have better engines, designed by him, similar to the mains of the Viteză Furie. I selected the five person shuttle because it has lots of room, modified to three seats. This gives me room to take both a ground vehicle, and the flyer. Folded of course. Along with extra fuel, supplies, a collection of different suits, and plenty of room left over to bring back samples and raw materials.
While the printer did that, the Viteză Furie orbited right into the top of the clouds of the gas giant. It took a month and a half to print the vehicles. It took two months to fully refuel the Viteză Furie, including the backup tanks and everything. The ship is now fully loaded, and with the removal of the crew compartment as a drain on the systems, is using a lot less fuel in the fusion plants, as well as in the mains to move the ship around..
Three months total of down time in the system of this gas giant. Why three? Because I was in the ADoc undergoing major surgery and the associated recovery. I was being upgraded, and those upgrades link me to the Viteză Furie fully. So long as I have signal, I can send the ship commands, get status updates, and when on-board, I can fly the ship from wherever I am. Not like with the duplicate control suites, but literally. I'm still getting used to it.
Brain implants, and a bunch of other optional things. Unlike before, where I had to stop and check on alerts, or just to make sure everything was going smoothly while on a workout, or while doing other things. Now, that is all at my my fingertips instantly, and with more data points, more detail, and more fine control than before. It is going to take time to get fully used to that.
I just figured. If I am going to be off the ship, I needed to be able to control it remotely, as well as the modifications that will give me higher chances of survival on alien worlds. It was a long fought decision, even if I did actually know what it was going to be before I made the decision.
The image above is from one of the many worlds that orbit the gas giant. It is cold there. The sea is actually a combination of liquid chlorine and oxygen. Astonishingly cold, and yet also so beautiful. I wish I had recorded the sound specifically. Didn't take a sound recorder, and didn't think to open a comm channel to record it that way. But the sounds of those waves, those cold waves of liquid oxygen was something else. I stared at if for several hours. An ocean of liquid air. Enough to give a dozen worlds an atmosphere like home.
You can see the UV star flaring over the limb of the gas giant, and the Viteză Furie to the left above the horizon, shining like a star itself. Was actually a quick drive burn I had it do for the photo. I set up a filter and collected as much of the liquid oxygen as I could load on the shuttle. Three trips worth. No point in letting such a resource go to waste. Note, the filter was not because of the Chlorine, but the fact that there is life in there. Microbes and even things I would call fish.
I've been exploring the worlds here for a month now. Meaning I have been here for over 4 months, and I have set foot on three of them. All beautiful, and cold. All also have some weird cryogenic life forms. I have documented them into a file specifically created for this system, a sub file for the gas giant and it's collection of worlds. I fired an air probe into the atmosphere of the gas giant because of some weird readings while refueling. Sure, there were microbes in the atmosphere, but there are bigger things. Huge and terrifying creatures living off the clouds, suspended in the different pressure layers of the atmosphere. There is so much life here it is breathtaking.
This has actually, despite being away from the Viteză Furie for days at a time, been very relaxing. I feel as if I have purpose, and I actually look forward to the next worlds I decide to stop at. Of course, the implants and modifications I underwent helped with the separation anxiety from the Viteză Furie, as well as my legitimate fear of the unknown.
Lastly. I need to record it somewhere. This decision. I had the systems print weapons as well, which I took with me. The armory is fully stocked now. I hadn't done that. Was thinking that maybe I never would. Why did I need weapons while I was on board and all by myself. I am now, however, leaving the Viteză Furie and stepping physically out into the unknown. Sure... I have drones which I can, and do, use to keep an eye on myself and to explore places I don't feel save exploring. Yet, there I am. I have a side arm strapped to my leg; and a blade and rifle across my back. I really argued with myself over this one, but much like the implants. Better to have them and not use them, than to need them and die because I didn't.
Well. I wrote this log while I was matching velocity with the Viteză Furie. Docking now. Once the shuttle is locked down, I am going to start thrusting out of this system, farther out and away from the UV star and it's amazing system of worlds. Time to move on. Time to test the ARC drive without the crew compartment strapped to the ship like a parasite. Time to locate some smooth space, and jump again. I do wonder what effect the crew compartment had on the jump and the performance of the ARC drive. If the readings are right, I'll now in about three weeks time.